Passive smoking occurs when a nonsmoker is exposed to secondhand smoke from cigarettes, cigars and pipe tobacco. The National Cancer Institute explains that secondhand smoke contains over 4,000 chemicals, 50 of which are known to cause cancer, including arsenic, cadmium and benzene. Approximately 3,000 nonsmokers die of lung cancer related to secondhand smoke exposure each year in the United States. Avoiding tobacco is the only way to completely prevent passive smoking.
At Home
If you live with a smoker, ask him to smoke outside. If he is unwilling to do so, the National Cancer Institute suggests designating one smoking room that is rarely used by others and keeping a window open when smoking. Tell your guests that cigarettes are off limits in your home and make sure babysitters and other household employees understand this. Enforcing a "no smoking" policy is especially important if you have children. A 2006 US Surgeon General report indicated that children exposed to smoke are more likely to suffer from respiratory infections and asthma.
In The Workplace
It is becoming easier to find a smoke-free job, since many state and local governments are requiring workplaces to ban cigarette smoking in and around the building, according to the American Cancer Society. A study performed by the Center for Economics Research at the Research Triangle Institute in North Carolina found that having a completely smoke-free work place reduced the number of smokers by 6 percent and daily cigarette consumption by 14 percent. The results of this study were published in the fall 1999 issue of "Tobacco Control." If your workplace still allows smoking, encourage your employer to consider restricting smokers to a certain area or ask to move your workplace as far from smokers as possible.
Public Areas
Ask to be seated as far from the smoking section as possible in restaurants that still allow smoking. Better yet, choose an establishment that has banned indoor smoking. The National Cancer Institute explains that there is no safe level of secondhand smoke and the only way to completely protect nonsmokers is to eliminate smoking from indoor places. Even sitting in a nonsmoking section with good ventilation exposes you to secondhand smoke. Like workplace smoking bans, many state and local governments are banning smoking indoors in public places. The Centers For Disease Control and Prevention found that a complete smoking ban in enclosed public spaces in Scotland resulted in a decrease in respiratory illness and eye, nose and throat irritation among workers and patrons within two months.
References
- National Cancer Institute: Secondhand Smoke Questions and Answers
- National Cancer Institute: I Mind Very Much If Your Smoke
- Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids: Health Harms from Secondhand Smoke
- American Cancer Society: Smoking in the Workplace
- "Tobacco Control:; The impact of workplace smoking bans: results from a national survey; 1999
